The Municipality of San Bartolomé is one of the smallest of Lanzarote. This does not prevent it from harbouring the international airport of the island, known by the name of Guasimeta. This airport, with its modern installations, receives a large number of flights daily, both regular and charter, which communicate Lanzarote, with the other islands and with the main European cities.
The relief of this area is very varied, due to the characteristics of the soil, which contains different types of volcanic earth and of lava layers. This is the cause of the graet diversity of scenary which we find in this zone situated on the cornice of the island. Although its sea front is small, we can find there, fine sandy beaches between Playa Honda and Guasimeta. They accumulate part of the sands transported by the wind across the "El Jable" area.
The agricultural landscape of the interior of San Bartolomé is of immense beauty, since almost all the crops are covered by a layer of volcanic ash or picón, of an intense black colours, against which the greennes of the vines stands out, forming a picturesque panorama.
The "Islote" which gives its name to one of the villages of the municipality, occupies all the nortwest part of the area. An enormous lake of solidified lava covers what was formerly a low-lying area.
The cultivation of vines in holes sheltered from the strong winds by walls of the volcanic stone, attains here its most spectacular forms. This work requieres immense effort, as it is frequently necessary to perforate up to five or six metres in order to reach fertile soil. The desolate aspect which, these fields offer at first sight, changes when one goes through them and discovers the vines and fig trees, hidden in the protecting crevices made by the islanders. To mention San Bartolomé is to speak of sweet potatos or "Boniatos", which areexquisitely sweet. This crop is grown mainly in the "Jable" a white belt of moving sand nd dunes which coss the island from nortwest to southeast carried by the wind.
Among mills formed by wooden towers and the perfect outline of these areas of cultivation called "Jables Marinos", are situated the noble sixteenth-centuty buildings of San Bartolomé is another interesting point, from an architectonic point of view.
Finally, near the village of Mozaga, situated symbolically in the geographical center of the island, is the "Monumento al Campesino" (Peasant Monument), the work of César Manrique erected in honour of the island's country-people. Near the monument is the "Casa-Museo del Campesino", a museum where one can admire the tools and domestic implements employed by the island's farmers.
 |
 |
| Click on the image to enter the photo gallery of San Bartolome Lanzarote |
 |
|
|
|
Click on images to enlarge them
|
